Fisayo Dele-Bashiru: Darren Moore spells out definitive Sheffield Wednesday stance amid interest from Blackpool and Norwich City

Sheffield Wednesday manager Darren Moore has delivered a clear message on the future of sought-after midfielder Fisayo Dele-Bashiru.
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The former Manchester City youngster, who is entering his third season with the Owls, was the subject of a six-figure bid from Championship Blackpool this week. Amid speculation surrounding interest by Norwich City, it was swiftly rejected by Wednesday.

Speaking from the club’s pre-season training camp in Portugal, the Owls boss told The Star the club are not looking to sell the young midfielder and that negotiations to extend his contract go on – his current deal runs out next summer.

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“I can't stop the interest from other clubs,” Moore said. “There is going to be interest in Fizz from other clubs because he is a good player.

“The attributes he showed last season will have alerted other clubs and I can understand it.

“There is interest because of the work that he has done and the potential they have seen.

“We are working on the final bit of his game. He understands that. He is such a wonderful boy. Credit to him because he just wants to play football.

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“We have not heard a murmur out of him or anything like that. He is doing his bit on the pitch and he has got people working on behalf of him where negotiations are ongoing with his club.”

At 21 years old, Dele-Bashiru is perhaps Wednesday’s brightest young player and caught the eye last season before injury hampered his progress.

Interest from the Championship would perhaps be expected to distract such a young player from his pre-season work, but Moore and his coaching staff have worked hard to keep him focused on the job ahead.

The Star revealed last month that the club were set to press on with a potential new deal for the explosive youngster.

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The Owls will be wary of perhaps losing him on a free transfer should his contract run out and are pressing on with talks to ensure that won’t be the case.

Asked for an update on Dele-Bashiru’s potential new contract, Moore said: "You asked me at the end of last season about certain players and contractual talks and Fizz falls into that category. We worked hard on him last year to get him to a point. Fizz is learning about the game in terms of his roles and responsibilities.

"He went away in the summer and he has come back and knows what is expected. He knows the competition that he is up against and he knows how hard the league is.

"He is in the right position and he has certainly got to look to continue to add more to the team.

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"Yes, we have been talking to him contractual wise. I have said to Fizz to let the powers at be look after and we have to make sure he is concentrating on the football pitch. We have to make sure we have got him in a position where come the start of the season he is competing to be in the starting eleven.”